Chapter 1
I often wonder what is beyond the wall. Are there more people? Are there cities like the one I live in if so are they safe? About 200 years ago there was a war that destroyed the rest of the world. We couldn’t possibly be the only survivors, it just doesn’t make sense.
The city that we live in used to be called Chicago. When I was a little girl I always dreamed of leaving. I always dreamed of leaving the city and meeting new people, but that was just a dream of a child.
Our founders built a wall to keep its citizens safe and in doing so they divided us into five factions to help keep the peace.
My faction is, Amity, Amity was formed in order to have a peaceful society free from conflict and sadness caused by the war. They are the peaceful ones, valuing happiness, harmony, trust, kindness, and forgiveness. The faction produces all the food for the other factions and the faction the counselors come to for advice. We can also administer peace/calming serum to help settle internal disputes. We also put it in our bread, which is pretty sneaky.
Are faction doesn’t have a leader but a representative, Johanna Reyes. She’s nice, sweet, and caring; which makes me trust her, but only a little. She believes that Amity should keep out of conflict and live in peace.
Jeanine Matthews is the leader of Erudite. She’s smart, cunning, and feared by everyone. She pretty much runs the whole city even though that is Abnegation’s job. Erudite believes that ignorance is the fault in human society. To me, they are a greedy faction, which makes me not trust them.
The faction Candor doesn’t have a leader but a representative, Jack Kang. Since Candor values honesty they run our justice system. Candor believes that deception is the fault in human society. They believe in honesty above all and are very very good at reading body language to detect lies. What infuriates me about Candor is that they can’t keep their mouths shut.
Dauntless is our warrior faction. They are the police that guard and protect the citizens. Dauntless was formed by those who blamed cowardness for society’s problems. They are in charge of the city’s security, they are our military. All members of Dauntless are physically fit, and I find them absolutely amazing and badass.
Then there’s Abnegation; which was formed by people who blamed selfishness for human nature’s mistakes. They value selflessness above all others, and that reason is why they run the government. Abnegation’s leader is Marcus Eaton, and from some rumors that have been going around are that he abused his son, and that’s why he left Abnegation. Abnegation is located just outside the sector next to the Factionless.
The Factionless are people that don’t fit in with any factions. Some made themselves Factionless because they felt that they chose the wrong faction, and others were kicked out of their faction. According to Erudite, there are more factionless people than there are people that have a faction. Which is kinda hard to believe.
I’m not like the others in my faction and everybody knows. I don’t belong in Amity. I’m not a peaceful, happy person. But I know I’m different in other ways too. I often want to be intelligent, but I want more, I want to be selfless, brave, and on occasion kind. I don’t understand why we all have to be just one thing.
Today is the day that will determine the rest of my life. Today I will take the aptitude test that all 18-year-olds have to take. The purpose of the test is to determine which faction you belong to based on your most dominant trait.
Tomorrow is the Choosing Ceremony, where the test takers must choose which faction they will enter. They have the choice of staying with their family or choosing an entirely new faction. The aptitude test should be taken into account in your decision, but it’s still their choice.
I know I should trust the test but I’m afraid that it will tell me I’m Amity. I know I don’t feel like Amity, but there are times when my Amity comes through, I do love it at Amity, I love to take care of the animals and sit around and talk with Johanna, but I still want out. But I’m also scared it’s gonna tell me I’m Erudite. I love to read and enjoy studying to an extent, hell I’m even at the top of my class. But I couldn’t picture myself being Jeanine’s little assistant, running around following her every order. To be honest, she annoys me, even though I’ve only seen her walking around a couple of times, she still annoys the shit out of me.
I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, staring intently at my reflection. I had taken after my mother, with long strawberry blonde hair, beautiful emerald eyes, and beautiful rosy lips. Standing at 5′7, I have a small hourglass shape, with medium-sized proportions. I never really cared about how I looked, and to this day I still don’t. But I’ve always been insecure about how I look. Some of my friends think that I am crazy; they always tell me that I was the most beautiful person they had seen.
I never got along with the girls in my class because I had every guy’s attention, which made me very uncomfortable, which is why I cover up. I usually stick with my orange skirt and a green shirt along with my brown vest. Most of the time I keep my hair down trying to hide my face so I can’t see people looking at me.
Johanna isn’t just my faction representative; she’s like my family, considering she’s all I have left. My mother, brother, and sister were killed by a venomous snake and my father was killed by a factionless after being kicked out of Amity. I look up to Johanna and I go to her about everything. You can say that she practically raised me, even though she’s only been taking care of me for three years. She tries to be there for me but sometimes I’m stubborn and I just go to the hideaway in a shack that I built out in the woods.
A knock at my door brings me out of my thoughts.
“Jackie, are you ready to go get breakfast? You’ll be late if you don’t hurry” Johanna hollars through the door.
“One moment”
When I open the door Johanna is right in my door. “Come on, you need a good meal before testing starts,” she says happily as she motions me downstairs.
I am so dreading the damn test. The test will tell me one of the two factions that I don’t want to belong to. I needed to get out of Amity, I couldn’t keep up this little act anymore, I need to escape.
I was quite surprised to see the dome completely packed when Johanna and I showed up. I got in line to grab myself some food, I picked up a couple of pieces of fruit and some bread because lord knows I’m gonna need it to get through today. At the end of the line, one of the kids was standing there smiling and telling everyone to go with peace. When he sees me his smile falters for a moment before he composes himself.
“Go with peace,” he says with a smile plastered across his face.
I look at him and put a fake smile on and turn to find where my friends are sitting.
“Hey, Jackie! Over here” one of my friends yells at me.
I look over and see my friends sitting at the end of one of the tables closest to the dome wall. I make my way over to them trying my hardest to ignore the stares I’m getting. As I get to the table one of my friends hops up and hugs me.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna show up,” Chris said with a hint of worry laced in his voice.
“I decided to sleep in a bit, I didn’t want to be tired while taking the test” I lied. I didn’t sleep a wink last night.
I was contemplating running away, just grabbing my essentials and making my way over the wall. Hoping that I can get past the Dauntless guards that patrol the wall. Then I realized that I would never get past them and that I would also be shot on sight.
My friend’s laughing snaps me back into reality. I look up to see my friend Chris laughing his ass off. Chris has long blond hair that goes to his jawline, which is pretty defined. He’s 6′4 with a slender frame. He’s got brown eyes, which is strange for someone with blond hair. He has sun-kissed skin that is absolutely to die for.
I take my focus off of him and look at my friend Zeke. Zeke is madly in love with Chris, but I don’t blame him. The man is gorgeous and funny as hell. Zeke is really sweet and caring, he will always care about someone else before himself. He’s about my height, with short black hair that curls in the front. He’s got bright blue eyes that show so much kindness and happiness. He has a much more slender frame than Chris.
I look over to my friend Maylen. She’s got long brunette hair that she always keeps in a french braid. She’s got brown eyes that almost match her hair color. She stands at 5′3 and she gets very annoyed when Chris tries using her as an armrest. She has a very curvy figure that gets all the guy’s attention.
And last but not least I look at my best friend Brokk. He’s got a slightly built frame from all the heavy lifting that he has to do. He’s got beautiful short white hair with icy blue eyes. He is the brains and the bronze of the group. He stands at almost seven feet, and sometimes it’s intimidating. I have a feeling that he is going to be Erudite, and I hope my feeling is wrong.
“Hello, earth to Jackie!” Zeke says as he snaps his fingers.
“What?”
“You were staring into another universe,” Chris said with a hint of worry.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about the test. I was thinking that this will be the last time that I see you guys.” I say with a hint of sadness.
“So I’m gonna guess that’s why you have a pile of bread on your tray,” Brokk says with a smirk.
“Yeah, I was hoping that they would calm my nerves, but now I think I’m too nervous to eat,” I say, pushing my tray away.
“And who’s to say we won’t all be in the same faction?” Maylen asks questioningly.
“Oh come on, can you not see that we are all different? I mean for christ’s sake, Chris is definitely Amity, Zeke is totally Abnegation, Brokk is either Dauntless or Erudite, and you Maylen, you are Erudite” I say with a snappy attitude.
“Who shit in your cheerios?” Brokk says jokingly.
“I’ve lost my appetite. I’ll see you guys later” I say as I get up and walk out of the dome ignoring all the stares.
It takes thirty minutes to reach one of the 5 stations that the train stops at. I needed to get away from people, I needed time to think to myself. I get on the train and sit down on the floor and lean my head against the wall and close my eyes.
Seconds later I hear footsteps, their Brokks.
“What do you want,” I say as I look over at him peeking onto the train.
He hops up onto the train and sits down next to me. He sits there for a moment not saying anything. Then he looks over at me with his beautiful icy eyes.
“I know you’re scared that the test is going to tell you that your Amity. But if there is one thing that I know about you, it is that you are not Amity. You are definitely Dauntless. You have a fight in you, and I’ve seen it. I’ve seen those nights where you sneak out to that little shack that you made, and start beating the shit out of that dummy that you have attached to a tree” He says calmly and smoothly as he speaks to me without breaking eye contact.
“H-how did you know that I sneak out?” I asked short of breath.
“I always look out for someone I care for,” He says as he leans in, colliding his lips with mine.
I’m surprised at how good of a kisser he is, his lips are soft and smooth. For a moment I’m taken back by his action. I start to kiss him back and he kisses back harder and more passionately. Sadly, our kiss is interrupted by the sound of laughter and talking.
“Shit!” He says as he pulls away from our kiss.
I couldn’t help but blush. I look up at him and he’s staring at me. I look from his eyes to his lip and blush again. I turn my head away and bite my lip.
He reaches over and turns my head to face him.
“You are so beautiful,” He says looking lustfully at me.
For the rest of the train ride, Brokk and I sat in silence while the others talked and goofed around. I couldn’t help but look over at Brokk here and there. I couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet and gentle he is. He’s always there for me when I need him, and I’m always there for him, but soon that’s going to change. We have to take the test and then leave each other forever, never to hang out ever again.
The train comes to a stop and we file out and make our way to our inevitable doom. Everyone is skipping around all happy thinking that this test is good for them, what they don’t know is that it’s a personal prison sentence.
We reach the auditorium and stand in line according to our factions. I hear the train coming and I turn to watch the Dauntless kids jump off and come running to their line. I watch as they all have fun and laugh with one another. I want to be like them.
The doors swing open for us and we make our way into the auditorium to listen to a lecture on the history of the aptitude test. This is going to be a long-ass day.
“One hundred years ago, after the war, our founders created a system they believed would prevent future conflict and create lasting peace. Today’s aptitude testing, based on your personality, will assign you to one of the factions. While we believe that choosing the faction indicated by your test is the best way to ensure success within the faction system, it is your right tomorrow, at the choosing ceremony, to choose any of the five factions regardless of your test results. However, once the choice has been made, there will be no change permitted”
We don’t have to wait for our faction to be called because they go by alphabetical order, so that means Amity is first. Our names then get called individually, I’m one of the first ones to test. I begin to walk towards the corridor and Brokk grabs my hand.
“You’ll be fine,” He says sympathetically, trying to calm my nerves.
I walk into the corridor. I stand in front of the door that holds my future behind it. I open the door and walk inside. The walls are lined with mirrors and I glance at my reflection before observing what is around me. A woman is standing in the middle of the room alongside a chair and a large monitor.
“Sit down” She motions me to sit
“My name is Tori and I’ll be administering your test. You’ll be offered a series of choices to test your aptitude for each faction until you get one result. I wouldn’t sweat it. Ninety-five percent get the faction of their origin, and from the looks of you...” She said with a bit of an attitude.
I didn’t like what she was insinuating. She doesn’t know a single thing about me. I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was dressed in all black leather with long straight black hair, and a tattoo of a river on her arm. Dauntless.
I stood there perplexed. I had no idea the test was that eccentric. Tori turned and noticed my face of confusion and shock.
“I know it’s a lot to process. Come on sit so we can start” She said as she motions to the chair.
I take a seat as she starts to connect a few electrodes to my forehead before handing me a vial with blueish fluid.
“Well, drink up” She snaps.
I look at the vile one last time before I tilt my head back and drink it all. It was cold and smooth going down my throat and had a bitter aftertaste. A moment later everything goes black.
I woke up in the same room, I was alone, Tori and the chair that I was just sitting in moments ago vanished, and I was left standing in the middle of the room. Looking around I noticed that the room stretched farther than the eye could see. I turn around and see two small tables, each with a plate. One had a piece of raw meat, another had a sharp knife. Someone speaks, and it causes me to turn around. I turn and I’m face to face with myself.
“Choose,” It says
“Why?” I ask questioningly
“Choose before it’s too late!”
“Just tell me. Why do I have to choose?” I yell
The reflection of me just stares back at me blankly. After a moment it speaks.
“Have it your way,” It answered.
Suddenly I heard the loud snarl and bark of a dog. I spin around to see a very large and very angry dog. It was growling, barking, and snapping at me. I stood my ground not wanting to show any fear. I turned my head slightly trying to find the knife. The tables were gone. I looked back at the dog, and it charged. I quickly dropped down into a submission position. I next feel a cold nose on my cheek, I look up to see a small, cute, and friendly puppy.
I then hear a little girl’s voice.
“Puppy!” She shrieked as she began to walk toward me.
A loud low growl erupted next to my ear. The small puppy was gone, now replaced by the large scary dog. The little girl turned to run and the dog followed. I couldn’t let the dog rip her apart. I get up and run after the dog. Right before it reaches the little girl I jump on it.
Instead of landing on the cold concrete floor, I collided with the soft dirt of the Amity fields. No one was here, I was in the field, but I wasn’t alone. My father stood next to me. I felt my blood run cold as he looked me up and down, with a look I knew all too well.
“Come here, Jackie!” He yelled
I’m frozen in place, no one is here to save me, no one to hear me call for help.
“I SAID GET OVER HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH, OR DOES DADDY HAVE TO TEACH YOU ANOTHER LESSON!” He’s screaming at me now.
A tear falls down my cheek as I find the will to move my feet. As I reach him he grabs a handful of my hair.
“Next time listen to me!” He yelled at my face and threw me to the ground.
He bends down to lift me up. I don’t want him to touch me, so I do the only thing I know. I start swinging. My fist collides with his jaw and he reels back.
“FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH!” He screams as he lunges at me.
My instinct is to protect myself, so I swing again. This time I hear something snap. I open my eyes and see he’s on the ground, not moving, and not breathing. His neck is turning colors, then I realize I snapped his neck.
“Jackie, what happened?” A voice behind me says.
I turn to see Johanna looking at me terrified
“Jackie, did you kill him?” She asks
I take a moment. I look from my to Johanna, and back again.
“Y-yes. I killed him” I say with a quiver in my voice.
I hear a loud boom, then a sudden pain shoots through my abdomen. I look up to see a black figure holding a gun at me. I fall to my knees, clutching my stomach. The black figure walks over to me and holds the gun to my forehead. I close my eyes.
“Do it” I say
A loud boom happens
I shoot up out of the chair, Tori is urging me to get up, she looks scared and panicked. “Come on, you have to leave. We’re going out the back door before my supervisor comes, ``she says frantically.
I know that something is wrong. “Wait, what were my results?”
“Amity,” She says calmly.
I look at her questioningly.
“And Dauntless, Erudite, Abnegation, and Candor. Your test results were inconclusive”
My heart nearly stopped as soon as she said it.
“That can’t be right?”
She grabbed my arm “No, not impossible. It’s just extremely rare. They call it Divergent”
My body goes numb. I’m one of the things that Erudite has been telling us about. I’m a monster.
“Jackie, listen to me. You can’t tell anyone about this, not even your parents; you know what they will do. As far as the world knows you received an Amity result because that is what I will manually enter” She states calmly.
I felt all the color drain from my face. She was right. I couldn’t tell anyone about this.
“Whatever you do tomorrow, do not choose Erudite or Dauntless, you won’t be safe in those factions. Do you understand me?” She grabs my shoulder, shaking me.
I slowly nod. She shoved me out the door and that was it. I stood there shocked. What do I do now? This was not the answer I was looking for. How was this even possible? I suddenly felt light-headed. I needed to get outside and get some fresh air. I run outside and take in several deep breaths of oxygen I can. I need to get home.
